I don’t see the four cities kev pointed out as “sh!tholes.” Far from it. Everybody can’t live in La Jolla … or in his case, Laguna Beach or the Palo Verde peninsula.
kev, you might be surprised to learn that many homeowners have paid-off homes in those “sh!thole” cities you mentioned. And many more homeowners in those cities are in the pipeline to have their homes paid off before retirement. In order for this to happen, a prospective buyer needs to actually consummate a sale and begin making mortgage payments. The younger they are able to do this, the better. You never did in the years you were actively “shopping” for a home (even in the post-bubble crash) because you didn’t like anything in your price range. You came here several times complaining vociferously that you didn’t like any of the inventory you could have placed an offer on. SEVERAL Piggs (me included) tried mightily to guide you here. So, even though you say you love SoCal and you think it is the best place in the nation to live in, you still don’t have a house there today. I’m not trying to taunt you here but I just feel you need to own that fact.
flyer, I don’t believe the typical homeowners in the cities kev mentioned are the ones we have to worry about “spending themselves into oblivion.” Those aren’t generally the types of owners who are trying to keep up with the joneses, nor are most of them “young.” They’re the type who work all of their lives (and often keep working into retirement to have something to do), keep older vehicles running as long as possible and repair their homes little by little as funds allow.
The type of homeowner we should be concerned about decimating our housing values again or complaining that they need a “bailout” are the ones who can’t and won’t live within their means. Good examples are “worker bee” FTBs who have kid(s) to support but who: 1) can’t move into a resale home they just purchased without first going deeper into debt to completely remodel it; 2) refuse to buy a resale home and ends up getting sucked into several hundred dollars per month in MR/HOA fees; 3) buys their first home and immediately after closing goes into deep debt for new furnishings and appliances; 4) refuse to drive vehicles older than 8 years old; and 5) at least one of the two buyers (if a joint purchase) staunchly refuses to take any kind of job at all, even if the family is teetering on the edge of BK and desperately needs operating income.
I’m not saying any of the above is you, kev. But based upon your collective previous posts, I think you could have purchased a home for yourself in LA or Orange County in years past and for whatever reasons, decided you really didn’t want one bad enough. In order to get a home in your price range while the getting was good, you had to have been decisive and able and willing to act on short notice (along with having a competent, credible agent). Not sure any of that happened in your case.
kev, I wish you the best if you decide to move out of state but am wondering why you would do so if the pay and promotional opportunities won’t be better than staying put or taking a position in the Silicon Valley. If you’ve got a least a decade left of possible raises/promotions, you need to remember that if you are an in-demand tech worker, your pay should build on itself as you change jobs. If you decide to return to Cali later from a place such as GA, you will have the GA pay from your most recent position for your new employer to verify and any offers of employment they make to you will be based upon a step up from your lower, GA pay (instead of the higher scale that you could have earned if you had stayed here).
